TY - JOUR
T1 - Measurement of Spatial Ability
T2 - Construction and Validation of the Spatial Reasoning Instrument for Middle School Students
AU - Ramful, Ajay
AU - Lowrie, Tom
AU - Logan, Tracy
PY - 2017/10
Y1 - 2017/10
N2 - This article describes the development and validation of a newly designed instrument for measuring the spatial ability of middle school students (11-13 years old). The design of the Spatial Reasoning Instrument (SRI) is based on three constructs (mental rotation, spatial orientation, and spatial visualization) and is aligned to the type of spatial maneuvers and task representations that middle-school students may encounter in mathematics and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related subjects. The instrument was administered to 430 students. Initially, a set of 15 items were devised for each of the three spatial constructs and the 45 items were eventually reduced to 30 items on the basis of factor analysis. The three underpinning factors accounted for 43% of variance. An internal reliability value of.845 was obtained. Subsequent Rasch analysis revealed appropriate item difficulty fit across each of the constructs. The three constructs of the SRI correlated significantly with existing well-established psychological instruments: for mental rotation (.71), spatial orientation (.41), and spatial visualization (.66). The psychometric characteristics of SRI substantiate the use of this measurement tool for research and pedagogical purposes.
AB - This article describes the development and validation of a newly designed instrument for measuring the spatial ability of middle school students (11-13 years old). The design of the Spatial Reasoning Instrument (SRI) is based on three constructs (mental rotation, spatial orientation, and spatial visualization) and is aligned to the type of spatial maneuvers and task representations that middle-school students may encounter in mathematics and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related subjects. The instrument was administered to 430 students. Initially, a set of 15 items were devised for each of the three spatial constructs and the 45 items were eventually reduced to 30 items on the basis of factor analysis. The three underpinning factors accounted for 43% of variance. An internal reliability value of.845 was obtained. Subsequent Rasch analysis revealed appropriate item difficulty fit across each of the constructs. The three constructs of the SRI correlated significantly with existing well-established psychological instruments: for mental rotation (.71), spatial orientation (.41), and spatial visualization (.66). The psychometric characteristics of SRI substantiate the use of this measurement tool for research and pedagogical purposes.
KW - mental rotation
KW - spatial ability
KW - spatial orientation
KW - spatial visualization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85019330717&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0734282916659207
DO - 10.1177/0734282916659207
M3 - Article
SN - 1557-5144
VL - 35
SP - 709
EP - 727
JO - Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment
JF - Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment
IS - 7
ER -